Environmental Justice

"A new report from the nonprofit Global Witness validates civil society groups’ concerns about exploitative labor practices and environmental destruction associated with lithium mining. The report, released Tuesday, identifies multiple alleged incidents of corruption, unsafe working conditions, forced evictions, child labor and harmful environmental practices tied to lithium mining in Zimbabwe, Namibia and the Democratic Republic of Congo."

"An American lawyer has been arrested after being accused of shooting and killing two environmental protesters in Panama earlier this week, according to several media outlets including local networks."

"Residents say a hazardous waste incinerator’s emissions violate their new constitutional right to a “healthful environment.”"

"Hazardous chemical accidents are occurring almost daily, on average, in the United States, exposing people to dangerous toxins through fires, explosions, leaks, spills and other releases, according to a new analysis by non-profit researchers."

"Alaska Native leaders are fuming at Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, saying she has ignored or rejected at least eight of their invitations for in-person meetings about the administration’s energy policies impacting their communities."

"Environmental advocates hope an agreement negotiated earlier this month by Baltimore City, the state Department of the Environment and the nonprofit Blue Water Baltimore to upgrade the city’s two wastewater treatment plants will help meet the state’s Chesapeake Bay restoration goals."

"In what was once a proud and neighborly community where residents sat on their porches and looked after kids playing in the streets, the noxious smell and degraded air quality attributable to the Covanta waste incinerator — the largest in the country, burning as much as 3,500 tons of trash a day — have driven residents indoors or out of town."

"Miami-Dade County commissioners on Tuesday will decide whether to establish the first county-level workplace heat protections in the United States, a test of whether local governments can protect workers from increasingly dangerous temperatures in the absence of federal rules."

"The top watchdog tasked with overseeing EPA faced accusations that he abused his authority, wasted government money and showed partisan favor. EPA Inspector General Sean O’Donnell denied the allegations, which an oversight body ultimately deemed not worthy of further investigation, according to documents obtained by E&E News."